The Coastal Carolina class that made the tough transition to FBS is reaping the rewards
When Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell was asked about the contributions of his senior class to the growth of the football program following Saturday’s 22-17 win over BYU at Brooks Stadium, he paused for a few moments to control his emotions and pulled his facemask down to speak.
“They’re deserving of these opportunities they’ve been creating,” Chadwell said on the verge of tears. “They came in when you’re transitioning. There’s a lot of challenge with that transition, a lot of challenge coming into a really good league. They got beat up and told they’re no good for a long time, and it was a process.
“They could have easily left because that’s what most people do. Then when I took over they could have easily left because it’s a tough transition, and they stuck through it. They’ve got a special place in our hearts, in the coaches’ hearts.”
The team’s fifth-year redshirt seniors joined the program in 2016. CCU was coming off four consecutive seasons of FCS playoff appearances and went 10-2 while playing an FCS schedule in a transition year.
Coastal went 3-9 in its first season in the Sun Belt Conference in 2017 with an eight-game losing streak and had two more losing seasons of 5-7 in each of the past two years while going 6-18 in league play over the three seasons.
“We’ve been through the thick and the thin for sure, and we’ve kept our head down and grinded,” fifth-year senior offensive lineman Trey Carter said. “We heard everybody in the country, every year back in 2016, 2017, 2018, ‘Go back to FCS, y’all are terrible, you can’t play around here.’ We just took it and we just worked our tails off to make sure we could prove to people we can play in this league.
“We’ve worked to get here. It’s been a long, hard process, a lot of trials and tribulations, but we’re blessed to be in this position.”
That stretch of losing seasons included Chadwell being promoted from associate head coach and offensive coordinator to head coach when Joe Moglia stepped down following the 2018 season.
“We talk all the time about leaving a legacy here,” Chadwell said. “. . . We wanted to lay a foundation and legacy for this FBS program. What they have done for this university, what they have done for this program is pretty special, and they’re deserving of that.
“There’s a legacy we’re trying to live up to from out 2003 team that started it and then continued to grow through coach [David] Bennett and coach Moglia and all the things they’ve done.”
In the polls
Coastal (10-0) moved up three spots in the AP Top 25 Poll on Sunday, going from 14th this past week to 11th after its win over BYU. The Chants only gained one spot in the USA Today Amway Coaches Poll to No. 13, passing only BYU, which fell from No. 8 to 16.
The most important ranking comes Tuesday night when the next College Football Playoff rankings are released. The CFP committee placed the Chants 18th last week and BYU was 13th.
CCU’s opponent on Dec. 19 in the Sun Belt championship game, Louisiana (9-1), has moved up to No. 17 in both AP and coaches polls after its win over Appalachian State on Friday.
Marvelous Marable
Senior running back C.J. Marable has moved into second place on the all-time CCU career rushing list, and he’s only getting stronger this season.
The quick and shifty 5-10, 200-pound senior passed Aundres Perkins (2003-06, 2,343 yards) to move into second with 2,528 rushing yards in less than three full seasons at CCU, and trails former NFL RB De’Angelo Henderson, who had 4,635 yards in four seasons from 2013-16.
Marable, who gained more than 1,000 yards as a freshman at Presbyterian before transferring, did much of the damage against BYU, rushing for 132 yards on 23 carries with two rushing TDs.
He has recorded back-to-back 100-yard rushing games to give him nine in his CCU career.
Marable added three catches for 10 yards Saturday, giving him 30 straight games with a catch to set a new school record previously held by Matt Hazel from 2011-13.
He has scored a touchdown in nine straight games and has multiple touchdowns in six games this season, including five rushing TDs in the past two games combined.
“People focus on him because of what he’s been able to accomplish. So they really focus on trying to take him away and do some different things,” Chadwell said. “That’s why we try to use him in the run game and try to use him in the pass game, and he’s contributed a lot in the pass game.”
Marable leads the Chants with 142 carries for 724 yards and 10 TDs rushing, and has been able to share the load in the backfield this year, as junior Shermari Jones, sophomore Reese White and redshirt freshman quarterback Grayson McCall all have at least 369 rushing yards.
He is also second on the team in receptions with 27 for 173 yards and six TDs.
“He’s been tremendous for us,” Chadwell said. “He does such a good job of affecting the game in other ways, whether its blocking or passing. He’s got more left in the tank, that’s what I’m excited about.”
Local addition
Chase Simmons, a defensive lineman for the SC Class 4A state runner-up North Myrtle Beach Chiefs, is among the high school seniors expected to sign with CCU when the early signing period begins on Dec. 16.
Simmons committed to the Chanticleers over offers from Georgia State, Charlotte, Akron and Kent State. He was part of a dominant Chiefs defensive line and can play at either the end or tackle positions.
Simmons played as a junior at well over 200 pounds, cut down to 182 pounds for wrestling (he finished as the state runner-up again after doing so at 170 pounds as a sophomore), and gorged to add more than 60 pounds to his 6-foot-4 frame for this past season.
A focus on football in college could make Simmons a productive player for CCU.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 3:58 PM.
